If you don’t frequent Tucson Boulevard north of Prince Road you may not have seen the newest addition to Tucson’s bicycle signage.
A project to add a six foot paved waking path from Prince Road to the Rio Vista Park and the entrance to The Loop path along Tucson Boulevard inspired the city to add the popular “Bikes may use the full lane” signs along the stretch.
Tucson’s bicycle and pedestrian program manager Ann Chanecka said she prefers the sign to the “Share the Road” signs in this type of situation.
The meaning of the signs are clear and help motorists to realize cyclists are not required to ride on the paved walking path along the stretch.
Where else would you like to see these signs?
I’ve been staring at this picture and I don’t know what to think.
Here’s a sidewalk that’s not a sidewalk so bikes can ride on it??
But the city doesn’t want bikes to ride on it even though it looks like a multi-use path so they use this sign to sort of kick bikes off onto the street??
My guess is this is not the situation this sign was intended for, but….??
@zz Yeah, there are 2 lanes here — the “car lane” (aka, the road) and the “walk lane” (aka, the sidewalk).
Does the sign mean I don’t have to yield to cars, or does it mean I don’t have to yield to pedestrians?
I agree with zz, the sign is unclear in the photo. Bikes can use which lane? The one on the left or the right? I realize a traffic engineer would know the difference and may therefore not call the paved path on the right a “lane”, but most of the public would not understand the nuance.
I assume the intent of the new sign is to let motorists know cyclists can use the full road and are not relegated to the far right. That’s not clear in the sign or the post above. Even a “share the road” sign would be a little unclear since the path on the right is not clearly designated for pedestrians.
I’m glad the city is trying to do something, but this looks like a work in progress and needs a little more thought.
Trying to remedy road design errors with stupid signs. That’s the Tucson way.
And to think that all they had to do was put this text: “May use full DRIVING lane” in order to clarify the sign’s intent…
Off course, a better thing to do, would be to put fully functional and separate pedestrian/bicycle infrastructure.
Because of the presence of the path, the sign might be ambiguous to motorists and dangerous to cyclists, no matter how much Ann Canecka is in love with them. That is, none of the players know to whom the sign applies. If she wants to put up signs all over the place, why not stick to the basic “share the road sign” which is standard and supported by Arizona Revised Statutes? Keep it simple and standard throughout the city? Is even it possible for a competent City of Tucson traffic engineer to study what she she has done?
And, Ann, how’s that 3rd and Treat debacle working out, what with UA students due back in a few weeks?
I rode this stretch recently for the first time. I thought the sign was very clear (and I’m no traffic engineer… an engineer, just not of the traffic persuasion). It is obviously a sign directed to drivers in vehicles. “LIKE”…
Red Star : Because “Share the Road” signs are not understood by many motorists. Too many think it means that cyclists have to ride on the edge and encourage passing within the same lane. These signs are typically posted in places where that is simply not safe. Too many motorists seem to think that “Share the Road” means that motorists get nothing and cyclists get scraps that endanger their lives.
“Bicycles May Use Full Lane” is much clearer. You share the road with cyclists the same as you do with slower motor vehicles. You move entirely into the same lane to pass, which is much much safer than passing within the same lane.
zentierra : It’s not a driving lane. It’s a traffic lane. Cyclists are traffic.
@katalinscherer : This sign is in the national Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices and it’s been vetted and tested in many places over the last decade. It’s not a stupid sign. It’s communicating to drivers that cyclists have equal right to the roadway, because they do under the law.
Congratulations, Tucson! We have had these signs in use on our street-width bicycle boulevards in Madison, WI, since at least 2010, and they are effective at taming motorists who are in a hurry to squeeze by cyclists.